The Devil Inside (small spoilers in OP, big spoilers boxed)

Cafe Society
1

Jesus Christ. . . this movie.

You know, I saw the preview for this when my boyfriend dragged me to see Paranormal Activity. I hate horror movies-- I just don’t like things jumping out at me and scaring me. Give me a Disney movie any day, is what I’m saying.

But I couldn’t get this movie out of my head. Maybe due to some twisted psychological issue tied back to my upbringing in a Catholic family, I couldn’t help but be curious about this movie. So, I put my big girl panties on and went to see it this weekend. . . at 1030 AM on a Saturday, so I’d be less scared :p. Did you know tickets are only $6 that early? I didn’t.

Anyway, on to the movie. I’ll say that the first 3/4 of this movie were seriously absolutely amazing. Really fascinating how they sort of twisted religion and science together in this exploration of something that started like some sort of Dateline special. The scenery was cool, the acting was good, I loved the characters, and- hey- even the scary gore was on point (even a chicken like me can give credit where credit’s due).

But what the hell happened in the last 1/4 of that movie? Can we discuss this please? For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, but don’t mind being spoiled:

[spoiler]
Isabella is the now adult daughter of Maria. When Isabella was 8, her mother murdered two priests and a nun in her own home during an exorcism on her-- something Isabella didn’t find out until well into adulthood. Mom was, for whatever reason, transferred to a Roman insane asylum, where she has been for the last 20 or so years. Isabella wants to find out if mom is possessed or just plain ol’ crazy in a way that will adversely effect her at some point, so she and a documentary film maker head to Rome.

While there, she meets Ben and David, two priests who perform underground exorcisms. According to Ben and David, the Catholic Church has become increasingly tight with performing exorcisms, so there are countless people who are definitely possessed, but not getting help. Ben and David help them. Because one of them is a doctor as well as a priest, their exorcisms mix science and religion.

Ok, all that is interesting and fine. Then we’ll skip a bunch and get to them exorcising Isabella’s mom, Maria, in the mental hospital.

So, mom has multiple demonic possession. Long story short, the demons jump from Maria (mom) to David (one of the priests). Then, when David kills himself after attempting to kill a baby during a baptism, the demons jump into Isabella. After Isabella kills someone in the hospital she’s at, the cameraman and Ben break her out and try to take her to their exorcism professor. Of course, on the way, the demon jumps into the cameraman who is driving them, causing him to drive them head on into traffic and kills them all.

Then the credits roll. [/spoiler]

So, in the theater I was in, people booed. They cursed. They yelled, “What in the ACTUAL FUCK?” People were way unhappy. And from what I’ve read, all across the country, people are asking for refunds, complaining, etc.

What I don’t get is why they would so abruptly end what was building up to be an AMAZING horror movie. Frankly, if I wrote the ending, it would go something like this (and it’ll only make sense to those who have seen the movie):

[spoiler]
They go in to Maria and realize she really is possessed. The head doctor there, all along suspecting that was her real problem, helps them break her out. The whole gang takes her to their professor, who informs them that there’s no way that the Vatican will ok this exorcism. . . but what they need to fight a demon THIS STRONG can only be found in the Vatican itself. So they somehow get her in there and do the end all be all of epic exorcisms in the chamber where the Vatican is keeping whatever holy relic it is they needed to defeat the demon. Movie ends with us seeing Maria is finally fine, so are the guys and Isabella.

Then it cuts to a Bishop or the Pope and you realize it’s happened. . . the demon has jumped into them.

Bam. Opens you right up for a sequel. [/spoiler]
Anywho, what did you think of the movie?

2

I have no intention of seeing it, but based on your summary, I guess I don’t get why people were so upset. Seems like pretty much how I’d expect a demon to act, if I believed in demons.

3

People were upset that the movie was like, at it’s high point-- maximum tension, fast pace, you’re super involved. . . then BOOM. [spoiler]No resolution. Just a black screen telling you to visit some website.

There are so many unanswered questions: is her mom still possessed? What happens to her? What the hell did Ben do to his uncle? Etc. etc.[/spoiler]

4

Have not seen it yet, have been creeped by the previews, probably will have to wait for the DVD.

I like your alt ending, but it would have to be done in a way consistent with the documentary format, wouldn’t it?

I could actually see the real ending as you described it working- I might be pissed at the failure to reach closure but I don’t think I’d be so outraged as to demand my money back.

5

I LOVE horror movies and I hadn’t planned on seeing this because the previews made it look so insipid. However, from your description, sounds like I’d like it, for no other reason than because it doesn’t end the way one would expect. That’s promising in my book.

6

It would have to be done in the doc format to fit in, I think. But it’s doable-- after all, the filmmaker wouldn’t have gone all that way to give up on his story. Plus, the two priests they are working with would want to be able to prove that they are doing the right thing.

And I didn’t ask for a refund or anything, but I definitely was staring at the screen, confused, then slightly annoyed. Boo.

7

Sounds to me like the ending had internal logic, but wasn’t “Hollywood” enough. I don’t have any problems with that, though I guess I’d have to see it to find out if it bugged me.

8

I haven’t seen it, however I’ve read reviews from many moviegoers that are not just upset about the non-resolution at the end, but think that it’s a really crappy movie throughout. I’ve liked some of the found-footage type horror movies of recent years (Cloverfield, REC), but I think I’ll give this one a pass.

9

Haven’t seen it, but from your synopsis and that on Wikipedia, it sounds like the pacing of the ending is similar to Blair Witch Project. That also happened to be one of the few parts of that movie that I really enjoyed.

10

You’re the first person I’ve seen call it “amazing”. From the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes it sounds like the worst movie ever made.

11

Sounds like No Country for Old Men. It was a good movie throughout, then it just ended as if the director died and they just stopped filming. The non ending killed it.

And I have no intention of seeing Devil Inside. It looks boring.